The Hindi-Marathi Language Dispute: A Constitutional Perspective

India’s constitutional design embraces linguistic diversity through a carefully crafted federal structure. The ongoing friction between Hindi and Marathi in Maharashtra must be understood in light of Part XVII of the Constitution, which governs official languages. Under Article 343(1), Hindi in the Devanagari script is designated as the official language of the Union. However, Article 343(2) and the Official Languages Act, 1963 ensure that English continues to be used for Union-level purposes, creating a dual-language model at the national level.

Importantly, Article 345 empowers each State to adopt its own official language for government work. Maharashtra, exercising this right, has designated Marathi as its official language. This means that any attempt to impose Hindi over Marathi in public communications such as railway announcements, signage, or central administrative services—runs counter to the constitutional principle of linguistic federalism. Even Article 351, which instructs the Union to promote the spread of Hindi, is not a license for imposition. It must be read narrowly: Hindi’s development should draw upon and enrich itself through other regional languages, including Marathi.

These issues aren’t merely symbolic. When Marathi is excluded in Maharashtra, it affects people’s right to receive information under Article 19(1)(a) and disrupts the constitutional principle of cooperative federalism, which requires mutual respect between the Union and State governments. Recent instances where Marathi was initially ignored in railway communications but reinstated after protests reflect not a policy choice but a constitutional correction.

Indian courts, while not directly ruling on the Hindi-Marathi issue, have upheld related principles. In T.M.A. Pai Foundation v. State of Karnataka (2002), the Supreme Court emphasized the rights of linguistic communities to preserve their language and culture under Article 29(1). Similarly, in D.A.V. College v. State of Punjab (1971), the Court protected institutions from forced language imposition. The Official Languages Act, 1963, further clarifies that both Hindi and English are official for the Union only there is no legal mandate for Hindi to be used in States that have chosen a different official language.

In sum, Marathi, as Maharashtra’s official language, must be respected in all official functions within the State including services provided by central agencies. Any deviation from this amounts to an unconstitutional encroachment on the State’s linguistic autonomy and may invite judicial scrutiny. In a multilingual democracy like India, language is not just a tool of administration it is a marker of identity, culture, and constitutional balance.

-KAPIL PALIWAL